Semiconductor devices are employed in many types of equipment to perform a wide variety of applications. One important type of semiconductor device for use in the memory field is known as dynamic random access memory (DRAM), which is extensively used as memory components in computers. A basic DRAM cell may include a capacitor and a transistor. The capacitor stores a charge representing data. The transistor allows the data to be written to or read from the capacitor. By reducing the size of the transistor and capacitor, semiconductor manufacturers can fit more DRAM onto a chip. The increase in the amount of DRAM results in greater memory capacity for the chip.
An often-used transistor is the metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) field effect transistor, known as a MOSFET. The MOSFET has three regions, which are the source, gate and drain. Charge enters the MOSFET at the source, flows through a channel and exits at the drain. The gate controls operation of the transistor.
As DRAM chips are scaled down, the transistors are placed closer together. This makes it more difficult to prevent charge from leaking from one transistor into an adjacent transistor. For example, the undesirable leakage may occur between the drain of one transistor and the source of a neighboring transistor. The oxide isolation between the transistors creates a parasitic MOS device. The off current of the parasitic MOS device, known as subthreshold leakage, can be a problem. Subthreshold leakage can result in a discharge of the DRAM memory cell, effectively erasing the data that the cell is supposed to store.
Various methods have been developed to try and isolate neighboring transistors from each other in order to minimize subthreshold leakage. One widely used isolation method employs local oxidation of silicon (LOCOS). In LOCOS generally, a thick oxide is grown on the silicon substrate between two active devices. In attempting to reduce subthreshold leakage, the LOCOS oxide is grown between neighboring transistors. First, a protective mask is placed over areas that should remain unchanged. Next, the chip is heated. Areas of silicon not protected by the mask are oxidized when the chip is heated. The oxide acts to electrically isolate the adjacent transistors, thereby reducing subthreshold leakage. The LOCOS oxide is normally very thick, on the order of 500 nm.
One drawback to LOCOS isolation is the width of the oxide. LOCOS forms a xe2x80x9cbird""s beakxe2x80x9d string on either side of the main oxide. The bird""s beak encroaches on space where the transistors are formed. In order to avoid the bird""s beak encroachment problem, transistors need to be spaced farther apart, which is undesirable for a high density DRAM chip.
A method that can be used as a substitute for LOCOS isolation in high-density DRAM chips is known as shallow trench isolation (STI). STI does not suffer from the scaling problem of LOCOS, which stems from the bird""s beak encroachment problem.
In creating an STI region, a shallow trench is first etched into the silicon substrate between the transistors. A liner may be formed in the trench. The liner is typically an oxide or nitride. The liner provides a convenient interface between the substrate and the material added to fill the trench. Next, the trench is filled in with an oxide. It is possible to employ other materials instead of oxide to fill the trench. Finally, the oxide surface is polished so that the filled-in trench is in the same plane as the surface of the rest of the chip at that point in the fabrication process.
The present invention improves upon the isolation provided by previous STI techniques by providing improved subthreshold leakage reduction. Small amounts of charge can leak from one transistor to another through a region known as a parasitic region of a MOS device. This small amount of leakage may be enough to discharge the memory cell. The parasitic region has a threshold voltage. Subthreshold leakage occurs when the voltage in the parasitic region rises above the threshold voltage.
Normally, the threshold voltage of the parasitic region is kept well above the operating voltage of the transistors. For example, the supplied operating voltage of a densely packed DRAM chip is typically 3.3 volts. The threshold voltage of the parasitic region may be more than 15 volts. This threshold voltage still permits a leakage current on the order of 1 fA. In a densely packed DRAM chip, 1 fA is enough to discharge the memory cell. Therefore, there is a need for an improved isolation device that minimizes subthreshold leakage between transistors such that a memory cell is not discharged.
It is one aspect of the present invention to improve upon conventional STI devices. In the present invention, the trench of the STI device is filled with a conducting material. The conducting material should be chosen such that a voltage bias can be applied to it. In one preferred embodiment, the conducting material is polysilicon. A dopant is added to the polysilicon such that the polysilicon-filled STI trench can sustain a voltage bias. This voltage bias changes the threshold voltage of the parasitic region of the MOS device (i.e., the region in which leakage occurs between adjacent transistors), further reducing the subthreshold leakage between adjacent transistors.
It is another aspect of the present invention to minimize latch-up. Latch-up occurs in a commonly used MOS technology known as complementary MOS (CMOS). In CMOS, pairs of MOS transistors are associated with each other. One transistor is n-type (NMOS), where electrons carry the current. The other transistor is p-type (PMOS), where the current is carried by positively charged holes. The NMOS and PMOS transistors are complementary because only one transistor is active at a time.
Applying a positive voltage to the gates of the NMOS and PMOS transistors will activate the NMOS transistor while shutting off the PMOS transistor. Applying a negative voltage (or zero volts) to the gates of the PMOS and NMOS transistors turns on the PMOS transistor, while shutting off the NMOS transistor. Operating one transistor while keeping the other one off conserves power on the chip.
Latch-up is an event in which current flows through the substrate between NMOS and PMOS portions of CMOS circuitry. The parasitic regions on the CMOS device for the NMOS and PMOS portions create a xe2x80x98latchxe2x80x99 through which the current flows. Latch-up degrades the CMOS circuitry performance by causing a heavy static current that can destroy the circuitry. The present invention minimizes latch-up by suppressing the leakage current in each parasitic region.
It is yet another aspect of the present invention to enhance electrostatic discharge (ESD) immunity of circuitry. Electrostatic discharge occurs when a high voltage is applied to a contact, creating excessive electric fields that cause a high current flow to an adjacent region. The high current can melt the chip, thereby destroying it. The present invention enhances ESD immunity by suppressing high current flow between adjacent regions.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a semiconductor device is provided for minimizing subthreshold leakage. The semiconductor device comprises a semiconductor substrate, a plurality of transistors having a gate, a source and a drain formed in the semiconductor substrate, a shallow trench isolation (STI) region formed in the semiconductor substrate between two of the transistors, and an interconnect. The STI region includes a trench, a base layer arranged in a bottom portion of the trench, and conducting material arranged on top of the base layer in the trench. The interconnect provides a contact whereby a voltage bias can be applied to the conducting material such that the subthreshold leakage is minimized.
In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, the semiconductor device further includes a plurality of capacitors. The capacitors are electrically connected to the transistors, forming DRAM memory cells. The voltage bias alters the threshold voltage such that subthreshold leakage current is too low to discharge the capacitor of the memory cell.
In accordance with yet another embodiment, the conducting material chosen is polysilicon. In accordance with yet another embodiment, the conducting material of the STI region is doped with p-type material. In accordance with yet another embodiment, the conducting material of the STI region is doped with n-type material. The p-type and n-type materials enhance the ability of the conducting material to sustain a voltage bias.
The base layer may be formed of different materials. In one example, the base layer is an oxide layer. In another example, the base layer is a nitride layer. In yet another example, the base layer is an oxide-nitride-oxide layer.
In accordance with yet another embodiment, the semiconductor device further comprises a top layer. The top layer is formed on top of the conducting material. The top layer has an open region, which permits the interconnect to contact the conducting layer. In one example, the top layer is an oxide layer. In another example, the top layer is a nitride layer. In yet another example, the top layer is an oxide-nitride-oxide layer.
In yet another embodiment of the present invention, semiconductor circuitry having reduced subthreshold leakage is formed. The circuitry includes a plurality of transistors and an STI device for isolating the plurality of transistors from one another. The STI device includes shallow trench, a base layer formed in the trench, and a polysilicon conducting layer formed on the base layer. The polysilicon conducting layer includes a dopant that permits the STI device to sustain a voltage bias.
The doped polysilicon can be biased at different voltage levels depending upon the kinds of semiconductor circuits the STI separates. In one example, when the STI separates one n-type FET (NFET) from another NFET, the doped polysilicon is biased below about a ground voltage of zero volts. In another example, when the STI separates one p-type FET (PFET) from another PFET, the doped polysilicon is biased above about a supply voltage.
In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, a method of fabricating a semiconductor device is provided. The method includes forming first and second transistors on a semiconductor substrate, forming an STI region including a shallow trench in the semiconductor substrate between the first and second transistors, forming a base layer on a bottom portion of the shallow trench, filling the shallow trench with conducting material over the base layer, and forming an interconnect at the STI region whereby a voltage bias can later be applied thereto such that subthreshold leakage between the first and second transistors is minimized. The order of forming the transistors and the STI region does not matter. For example, the transistors may be formed before, during or after the STI region is formed.
In yet another embodiment of the present invention, first and second capacitors are formed. The first capacitor is electrically connected to the first transistor, creating a DRAM memory cell. The second capacitor is electrically connected to the second transistor, creating a DRAM memory cell. The capacitors may be formed before, during or after the transistors and/or the STI region.
In another embodiment of the method of fabricating a semiconductor device, the conducting material is polysilicon doped with p-type material. In another embodiment, the conducting material is polysilicon doped with n-type material. The conducting material can be doped before, during or after the conducting material is formed in the shallow trench.
The base layer may comprise a variety of materials. In one example, the base layer is selected from the group consisting of an oxide layer, a nitride layer and an oxide-nitride-oxide layer.
In yet another embodiment of the method of fabricating, a top layer is formed on the conducting material. The top layer may have an open area. The open area may be created after the top layer is formed on the conducting material or it may be created while the top layer is formed on the conducting material. The top layer may comprise a variety of materials. In one example, the top layer is selected from the group consisting of an oxide layer, a nitride layer and an oxide-nitride-oxide layer. In another embodiment, the conducting material is recessed below a top region of the trench prior to forming the top layer. In the embodiment where the top layer has an open area, a conducting interconnect may be arranged therein in contact with the conducting material.
The semiconductor device of the present invention and the method of fabricating a semiconductor device of the present invention provide enhanced isolation between active devices such as transistors. The STI device allows transistors to be made smaller, thereby increasing the amount of DRAM that fit on a chip, while at the same time reducing subthreshold leakage.